About Aylla
Shoes are part of our body
My name is Honza, and Aylla more or less took shape under my hands. Or rather, my feet.
Movement has been part of my whole life. Climbing, sport, yoga and working with my own body. The more I moved, the more I noticed something I had never really thought about before: what I was wearing on my feet.
Shoes are the only item of clothing that changes the shape of our body.
When feet lack space and are forced away from their natural form, the effects go beyond the toes. It changes how we stand and move. Aylla was created to give feet enough room inside shoes to do their job. Our bodies are designed for natural movement from birth. We just need to stop getting in their way. There is nothing complicated about it.
So there was no great moment of enlightenment. I simply wanted shoes that would feel better on my feet. Why spend the whole day looking forward to taking them off at home?
2008
My first barefoot shoes. Even though I didn’t know it yet.
While at university, I went looking for wide shoes. I left with a pair of barefoot shoes, without even knowing that was what they were called. To make matters worse, I was given the wrong advice in the shop and bought them too small.
So there was no great moment of enlightenment. I simply wanted shoes that would feel better on my feet.
2016
A climbing wall and the role of the little toe
My dream was to have my own climbing wall. We opened one at the Sokol sports centre in Pardubice, and my brother and I took turns at reception for two years.
Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga classes were held in the same building. I started going, and it completely absorbed me for years. I learnt to engage my whole body, with many details beginning at the feet. For example, I learnt how to engage my little toe properly, and suddenly I could do poses I had struggled with before. The foot is an essential part of our body and physically supports us in every movement.
2017
A small shop by the wall
I opened a small barefoot shop next to the climbing wall. At the time, there were only a handful of barefoot brands, and some made shoes exclusively for children.
I began talking to customers – not only about shoes, but mainly about their feet: what felt good, what pinched and what was missing from the market. And the longer I sold shoes from other brands, the clearer it became that there were major gaps.
Then a friend asked a simple question: “Why don’t you have your own made?”
So we gave it a try.
2019
The first INCA
My friend Martin and I designed our first model ourselves. Some techniques that were already standard in conventional footwear were something very few manufacturers knew how to apply to barefoot shoes. We learnt as we went, while also dealing with the perfectly ordinary fear that it might all go wrong.
In 2019, INCA was finally born – the first model whose shape, function and craftsmanship I could truly stand behind.
INCA today
INCA remains part of our collection. We have gradually refined it, and today it also has a second generation with a slightly different toe shape.
It shows our approach to shoes clearly: when something works, we do not discard it. We listen, test and improve the details.
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Why Aylla?
When choosing a name, we wanted to connect climbing, yoga, barefoot footwear and people who enjoy thinking differently about movement.
Aylla comes from the Quechua word ayllu, meaning family or community. It felt right then, and it still does today.
The first five years
For our first five years, we manufactured in Czechia and Slovakia. We were proud of it and wanted it to stay that way for a long time.
But over time, we encountered inconsistent quality and technological limitations, and our development options had virtually reached a standstill. Local production simply could not offer us more. It was not easy to admit. But if we wanted to make better shoes, we could not stick with something simply because it was familiar.
People sometimes ask whether we manufacture in Czechia and expect the answer to be yes. But the issue is broader. Leather, for example, is now barely processed in Czechia, and many other components and technologies are not available here – and probably never will be. Our country once chose to become part of the European Union, and I prefer to see the EU as a whole. That is also why we keep our production within it. Although, of course, the greatest whole is our entire planet.
2025
We start making our shoes in Portugal
In March 2025, we moved production to Portugal. It gives us more consistent quality, better technological facilities and the freedom to refine details that were previously out of reach. We can also keep a closer eye on our materials and work with premium leather processed with greater care. In Portugal, the materials needed to make our shoes can all be produced and processed within the same region. This also reduces our environmental impact, as we no longer transport materials from several different countries.
Our ideas, development and design remain with us in Pardubice. Katka and Tadeáš are behind the development of our shoes. In Portugal, their designs are brought to life by people who truly know their craft.
What matters to us
Letting feet work naturally
We do not make shoes that shape the foot. We give it space and aim to make the shoe work with the foot.
Making shoes we can stand behind
We love design, but looking good is not enough. We wear, test and refine every model. If something does not feel right, we return to it – sometimes even to a detail no one would notice at first glance.
Knowing what we make
We want to understand every part of the development, materials and craftsmanship. Not so we can write a nice paragraph about it, but because there is no other way to make a good shoe in the long run.
Heartily,
AYLLA SHOES
Pardubice, Czech Republic
